In addition to Student Government officers’ free administrative parking permits, a yearly stipend and invitations to exclusive events, such as dinner at the Chancellor’s house, the four executive officers now receive free meal plans.

In previous years, only student body presidents received free meal plans from University Dining.

David Burton Foxx, student body treasurer and a senior in political science and history, said he believes this is the first year all four officers – including student body president, treasurer, chief justice and Student Senate president – received free meal plans.

According to Foxx, this relationship between University Dining and Student Government began during the presidency of Whil Piavis.

“He was the first president to my knowledge who worked out a situation with Dining to get a meal plan for himself,” Foxx said. “And that was transferred to Will Quick, and then to Bobby Mills.”

Quick, last year’s student body president, confirmed the arrangement with University Dining had already been set up when he became president last year. He said he did not think the other officers received free plans during his term as student body president.

Adam Compton, a junior in agricultural business management, worked as treasurer during Quick’s term. He said he did not receive a meal plan last year, and he did not think any of the other officers did either.

Chief Justice Lock Whiteside, a graduate student in social studies education, also served last year during Quick’s administration. He said the idea of the officers getting free plans was “floated around” last year.

Despite former officers denying that they received plans, Student Body President Bobby Mills, a junior in political science, said this year is not the first time officers have gotten them.

Mills also said he cannot remember how the arrangement between University Dining Business Officer Randy Lait and himself was made. It is unclear whether University Dining approached the officers about the plans or vice versa.

Greg Doucette, Student Senate president and a senior in computer science, said he received an e-mail from Mills in July pertaining to the meal plan arrangement. Foxx said he received the same e-mail, in which Mills asked for their student ID numbers to give to Lait in order to set up the plans.

“Bobby told us to send him our ID numbers and then we’d be straight for the meal plans,” Foxx said.

All four current officers and Lait said they did not know which meal plans the officers are receiving this year.

“I really don’t know the specifics on it,” Mills said. “Randy Lait pretty much just let us decide what we wanted, but we didn’t want to take advantage of the situation.”

Doucette said he had purchased a 12-meal-per-week plan for himself prior to hearing about the free plan. He said University Dining refunded his money.

According to University Dining, the 12-meal-per-week plan is most popular among students, statistically. It costs $900 per semester, which would cost $7,200 per year for all four officers to receive the most popular plan. But, Lait said no money exchanged hands between University Dining and Student Government. He also said the meal plans should not be seen as a bribe between the two groups.

“It’s not like that at all,” Lait said. “It’s there to help them interact with students.”

Mills said one of the main reasons for the free plan is to help promote a sense of community between the officers and the student body.

“I always go to the dining halls and sit with someone I don’t know and interact while I’m there,” he said.

But, Foxx disagreed with Mills’ reasoning, saying that free meal plans should not entice officers to socialize with the student body.

“I don’t think having a meal plan should cause us to interact with the community,” he said. “If somebody is doing their job, then they should be interacting with students on a daily basis. It shouldn’t take you having a meal plan to advocate and reach out to students.”

Though Foxx disagreed with Mills, he and the rest of the officers did agree that the free plans are well deserved.

“There’s a tremendous amount of responsibility given to these officers,” Foxx said. “It’s an added bonus to the job.”

Robert Bradley, a senior in chemical engineering, said the plans should not serve as an incentive to run for office.

“I don’t think that the candidates that the student body elects are the people who would just enter an election for the perks, he said. “Those individuals are usually not elected.”

Bradley said the Senate should have voted on the added perk and possibly waited until next semester to implement the free plans.

“This is the way our U.S. Congress sets their salary,” he said. “When they vote to increase it, each member must wait till reelection before their salary is increased.”

The officers said they did not see receiving the free plans as an ethical problem.

“Saying something is unethical implies that we’re hiding something, and that’s not at all what we’re doing,” Mills said. “We aren’t charging students for this – it isn’t costing them anything.”

But, others understand how the plans could be perceived as a conflict of interests for the officers.

“It becomes a tricky situation when student-appointed officers start to receive things that students have to pay for,” Compton said. “Officers are there to work for the students and put them first.”